It's a case of using the quote buttons sensibly.

Quoting the entire last post in a thread to add some comments isn't really necessary, as you do read down a thread in a linear manner.

A reply at the end of a thread implies that you're continuing the current conversation (quote not necessary), and I agree that quoting is required to backtrack slightly or pick up a previous comment clearly.

Quoting to get back on track is absolutely fine, I don't have a problem with that at all.

It's the misuse of quotes which is the problem - the red text is meant to draw attention to the poster that they shouldn't have used the quote button to make their comment. Quoting a big post to add a few smilies or a few words is the biggest problem - it slows down the page loading and makes it untidy.

I'm all for clarity and making it easy to follow threads, which is why I think that quoting should be done sensibly (as you suggest) rather than as a slightly lazy/blanket procedure.

I think we both want the same here, and I'm not being as strict about this as you think I am....

It's not especially a question of cost, but making sure threads are easy and quick to read and contribute to  Big bad boss man

Martin wrote:

It's the misuse of quotes which is the problem <snip> Quoting a big post to add a few smilies or a few words is the biggest problem

I've always wondered how people get quotes for multiple posts in one go...

I rarely quote other people, they quote me!  THE INVENTOR OF THE TERM "FULL-FAT RANGE ROVER" : IT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

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For newer members who are not yet aware of the guidelines for not putting large sections of quote into a thread. THE INVENTOR OF THE TERM "FULL-FAT RANGE ROVER" : IT'S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

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*Gone: Range Rover Sport Supercharged 4.2V8
*Gone: Range Rover Vogue Classic 3.9 Auto
*Gone: Land Rover Series 3 SWB